Cara Losier Chanoine ENGL 864 Response for 6/24/14
In shaping my response today, I’m focusing primarily on the third question, but will likely overlap onto the others, too. During our discussion today, I found myself thinking about the ways in which the poems we were discussing could be considered both political and romantic, so I was glad to see a prompt devoted to analyzing the interplay between religious, political, and love poetry as subgenres. In yesterday’s response, I talked about how I have a very broad conception of love poetry. This allows for a lot of coexistence when it comes to this whole overlapping genres thing. For example, I think that Felicia Hemans’ ‘The Indian City’ functions effectively as both a political poem, a love poem, and a religious poem. The idea of war is one that can likely be read as political in almost any context, and I find that Hemans’ poem offers no exception. Although Hemans personalizes the origins of the battle in question, many of her lines also reflect more universal consequences. The poem’s final stanza provides a perfect example: Palace and tower on that plain were left, Like fallen trees by the lightning cleft; The wild vine mantled the stately square, The Rajah’s throne was the serpent’s lair, And the jungle grass o’er the altar sprung— This was the work of one deep heart wrung! (53). The description of ruined splendor is impactful, especially when paired with the final line. It suggests that these consequences were too great, or that the war itself was futile. If this is the case, the poem can be read as, among other things, a commentary on the institutions that govern our society. On the other hand, I think that ‘The Indian City’ can also be read as a love poem. This does not preclude its being read as a political, religious, or any other type of poem, but rather offers another layer to its interpretation. Instead of being a romantic love poem, ‘The Indian City’ deals with filial love. Regardless, the grief expressed by the mother character at the death of her son is no less potent than what we might expect from the grief of a bereft lover. Hemans descriptions of the mother’s reaction includes language that carries a lot of emotional weight, such as: “shrieking, mantled her head from sight” (Line 119), “A brow in its regal passion high,/ With a close and rigid grasp she press’d/ The blood-stain’d robe to her heaving breast,” (Lines 131-133) “Her soul sat veil’d in its agony” (Line 112). If the term “love poem” is defined as a poem that expresses love, I think that it’s difficult to say that “The Indian City” doesn’t fit the bill. Finally, I feel that this poem can also function as a religious poem, although perhaps in a different way than the religious works I considered when I read EBB and Rossetti. However, it is worth noting that religious conflict functions as a catalyst. Although the poem is not a praise or devotional poem, it does deal with the complexities of religion through reference to customs and religious ethics. For example, the fact that the son is killed because “This was the doom for a Moslem found/With foot profane on their holy ground” illustrates the fact that religion can function as a dividing factor within cultural communities, and can be accompanied by codes and mores that are unique in nature. One again, it appears that I’ve taken my entire freewrite to analyze one poem, so I’ll save my commentary on Rossetti and Browning for tomorrow!
ENGL 864 Response for 6/24/14
In shaping my response today, I’m focusing primarily on the third question, but will likely overlap onto the others, too. During our discussion today, I found myself thinking about the ways in which the poems we were discussing could be considered both political and romantic, so I was glad to see a prompt devoted to analyzing the interplay between religious, political, and love poetry as subgenres.
In yesterday’s response, I talked about how I have a very broad conception of love poetry. This allows for a lot of coexistence when it comes to this whole overlapping genres thing. For example, I think that Felicia Hemans’ ‘The Indian City’ functions effectively as both a political poem, a love poem, and a religious poem.
The idea of war is one that can likely be read as political in almost any context, and I find that Hemans’ poem offers no exception. Although Hemans personalizes the origins of the battle in question, many of her lines also reflect more universal consequences. The poem’s final stanza provides a perfect example:
Palace and tower on that plain were left,
Like fallen trees by the lightning cleft;
The wild vine mantled the stately square,
The Rajah’s throne was the serpent’s lair,
And the jungle grass o’er the altar sprung—
This was the work of one deep heart wrung! (53).
The description of ruined splendor is impactful, especially when paired with the final line. It suggests that these consequences were too great, or that the war itself was futile. If this is the case, the poem can be read as, among other things, a commentary on the institutions that govern our society.
On the other hand, I think that ‘The Indian City’ can also be read as a love poem. This does not preclude its being read as a political, religious, or any other type of poem, but rather offers another layer to its interpretation. Instead of being a romantic love poem, ‘The Indian City’ deals with filial love. Regardless, the grief expressed by the mother character at the death of her son is no less potent than what we might expect from the grief of a bereft lover. Hemans descriptions of the mother’s reaction includes language that carries a lot of emotional weight, such as: “shrieking, mantled her head from sight” (Line 119), “A brow in its regal passion high,/ With a close and rigid grasp she press’d/ The blood-stain’d robe to her heaving breast,” (Lines 131-133) “Her soul sat veil’d in its agony” (Line 112). If the term “love poem” is defined as a poem that expresses love, I think that it’s difficult to say that “The Indian City” doesn’t fit the bill.
Finally, I feel that this poem can also function as a religious poem, although perhaps in a different way than the religious works I considered when I read EBB and Rossetti. However, it is worth noting that religious conflict functions as a catalyst. Although the poem is not a praise or devotional poem, it does deal with the complexities of religion through reference to customs and religious ethics. For example, the fact that the son is killed because “This was the doom for a Moslem found/With foot profane on their holy ground” illustrates the fact that religion can function as a dividing factor within cultural communities, and can be accompanied by codes and mores that are unique in nature.
One again, it appears that I’ve taken my entire freewrite to analyze one poem, so I’ll save my commentary on Rossetti and Browning for tomorrow!